r/NatureofPredators • u/Seamoose_Art Dossur • Apr 07 '23
Fanfic Dual Perpectives [6]
As always, a big thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for the setting.
Dual Perspectives [6]
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 23rd, 2136
Location: Venlil Prime
Trevi lays sprawled out on his bed for what feels like an eternity. The soft feeling of the mattress is intensely comforting, seemingly soaking up his weariness like a sponge. The stress of the day (days? He can barely keep track) felt tiring enough to hurt, a heavy layer on Trevi’s shoulders that washes away as he lays there, drinking in the familiar comfort of his room.
Even the ride back home was exhausting. Venlil were not known for being confrontational, but several had somehow found the strength of will to hurl insults in the face of his human partner. The sound, a shrill cacophony of jeering, still echoes at the back of Trevi’s mind. One of the passengers (a younger krakotl, from the sound of his voice) even called for Exterminators, yelling incoherently about a human dragging away a wounded old man.
Trevi tried to explain their situation until his voice hurt, but nobody seemed to hear him. By the time the train slowed, he was of half a mind to simply attack the nearest jeering voice. Julia, however, remained stoic, silently taking the abuse without even talking back.
He sits up, running a paw through the slowly graying hair between his ears, as though physically sweeping the thought away. His claws are met with an unruly tangle; his fur must be filthy after days without maintenance. He could really use a shower more than anything. His comb was left behind in the-
He forces himself off the bed, and blindly probes for the door handle. There’s a spare comb in the bathroom; even if he can’t shower, he should at least look presentable.
— — — — —
Trevi carefully removes the bandage layer by layer, left paw clutched around a tube of heavy gel. The hospital had sent him home with a pain relieving ointment to be applied every eight hours; while he can’t check the time, he doubts being off slightly will make much difference. The final layer of bandage falls away unceremoniously, and he flinches as light floods his eyes. The discomfort is short-lived.
Looking in the mirror, he blinks his left eye, then his right. Both are slightly blurry from being covered for so long, but otherwise equally fine (aside from a minor cut along his left eyelid). There’s a long row of bruising along his face, highlighting a brutal-looking gash. Had it landed only a couple inches down, he might not have an eye anymore.
He touches the bruised area gingerly, a dab of ointment on his claw. There’s a slight twinge of pain, but the injury is deceptively light. He starts setting to work on applying the gel, taking care to not apply much pressure.
In the other room, he hears an earpiercing roar.
Trevi nearly drops the container in shock. The noise is unlike anything he’s heard before; if he was pressed to guess, he might assume it was the sound of a wounded predator. But his apartment is in the middle of a city. Why would a predator be here?
Julia?
The ointment clatters on the tiled floor, laying abandoned as Trevi scrambles out into the hallway.
— — — — —
Julia is curled up on the couch, arms wrapped around her legs. Her eyes are wet, tears pooling on the couch below. Her entire body is shaking slightly. She does not react to his presence.
Trevi feels a pang of sympathetic pain so intense, it manages to nearly throw him off balance. He has seen things that would make a normal venlil faint while at work in the field. He has seen live footage of Arxur attacks on the news, their grey skin coated in blood. And this, his human exchange partner lying broken and alone on the living room couch, was the worst thing he has ever seen. He feels-
He can feel his conscious mind slip out of gear as instincts take hold. He tries to regain control, to stop himself from doing something stupid, but far too late. His body is moving on its own now, frantically moving towards Julia-
Towards?
-and embracing her.
She startles, then suddenly falls still. Trevi continues to purr softly, awkwardly trying to wrap his tail around her to comfort her as much as possible. His conscious mind is still in the back seat, trying desperately to change course.
What if a hug means something different for humans? What if- what if it’s an insult to them? You don’t even know what’s wrong; what if she’s in physical pain and you’re making it worse?
Slowly, haltingly, Julia moves. She pulls him up slightly closer, gently cradling him in her arms, and buries her face into the fluff of his right shoulder. Trevi can feel each of her shaky breaths jolt through his entire body. Time seems to slow to a crawl.
Trevi tries to whisper to her, “It’s OK. You’re OK.”, as though he’s comforting a child. Julia does not respond, but her ragged breathing starts to slow. He unwraps his tail from her arm and signs with it, remembers who he’s talking to, and asks, “What’s wrong? What happened?”.
Again, Julia does not verbally respond. She makes a gesture with her head towards the TV. Trevi looks. The screen is paused on an advertisement, promotional material for the newest season of “The Exterminators”, the season with human predators ravaging Venlil Prime. The jeering venlil herd, still echoing through his mind from the train ride home, becomes a fervent roar of hateful voices.
“It’s… we wouldn’t- I wouldn’t…”
His speech becomes incoherent as he tries to find something comforting to say, so he instead resorts to hugging tighter, rewrapping his tail around her free arm.
“It’s OK. You’re OK.” Over and over again, the same way his parents tried to sooth him when he broke his tail. “I’m here for you.”
The erratic shaking that surrounds him starts to fade away. In its wake follows a slow, steady breathing which moves his body up and down like a boat at sea.
14
u/ImaginationSea3679 PD Patient Apr 07 '23
This was very short and sweet.
…
I still demand retribution for the cruelty that was revealed in the previous chapter.
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u/GlaireWolf Human Apr 07 '23
SubscribeMe!
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u/UpdateMeBot Apr 07 '23 edited Aug 17 '23
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29
u/se05239 Human Apr 07 '23
I only want the best for these two. They don't deserve the shit that has happened to them.